20
by Frankenstein's Mom
Summary: Erza knows that she needs to let her daughter go out on her own and let her grow. But is putting her in the sun too early going to kill the flower bud? Or is it too late to let it bloom? Next generation of our beloved gang. OCXOC etc and what not...
1. Leaving Home

_It's been twenty years since Lucy joined Fairy Tail and some changes have taken place._

_For starters, her and Natsu are now happily married. Yes married. With a fourteen-year-old son named Ian and a thirteen-year-old daughter named Lyla Heart. (Lucy wanted to name her after her mother). Gray got married and had a son too. His name is Alexander (Zander for short even though Gray refuses to call him that). And to the astonishment of everyone in Fairy Tail (and by everyone, I do mean everyone) Erza got married and had a daughter too. Sadly no one really ever met her husband because after a year he took a job (because he too was a mage) and died on the job. Shortly after that, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Akane._

_Like I said, some things have definitely changed in twenty years._

_But now our story starts with an twelve-year-old Akane Scarlet leaving her home, her comfortable life, and her mother to go into the world and join the infamous mage guild Fairy Tail._

/

Akane sat on her bed looking at the packed suitcase that sat on the floor by her feet. She would be leaving her home in Harujion within the hour. _Do I want to go through with this?_ she thought. _Mom would be all by herself and based on the stories I've heard about her past she seems to have a lot of enemies._ Akane sighed. "Then again, now that I've told her I'm going, she won't let me change my mind on account of her. And it's not like her enemies will come back to kill her after all this time," Akane said reassuring herself.

"How right you are."

Akane jumped slightly at the unexpected voice soon to realize that it was only her mother. The famed Erza Scarlet.

Titania Erza.

Akane looked at her mother, then turned her head away and looked out her bedroom window at the grass outside. "What makes you think I'm talking about you? I might be talking about Lilly for all you know," Akane said stubbornly.

"Akane, Lilly's a dog. She doesn't care if she has enemies," her mother retorted. "But if you want to stay with Lilly a little longer, I can teach you re-quip magic. You can have my old armor and-"

"No mom, I'm good with the magic I have," Akane said cutting off her mother. She took her eyes off of the outside world, folded her hands on her lap and watched them carefully as if they would get up on their own and run away. Akane let go of her hands and dug her left hand into her pocket to retrieve a silver coin about the size of a quarter. She held it in her hand for a bit then proceeded to flip it over her pointer finger. Erza sat down on Akane's bed and hugged her, both doing their best to hold in tears. _She's only twelve, but there's nothing I can do,_ Erza thought. She wants this more than anything right now and she won't let me stop her. Erza grabbed one of Akane's white ribbons and turned her daughter to braid her hair. Letting her go would be one of the hardest things for Erza to do and they both knew it. First she lost her husband unexpectedly and now she had to watch her only daughter leave to go into the world that he died in.

"Mom, don't worry about me. I'll be safe at Fairy Tail. And you won't be alone really, you'll have Lilly," Akane said giggling quietly to herself.

"I know. I'm not worried about you. I'm worried about the idiots that will try to oppose you," Erza hugged her daughter tightly, "I know you're a great mage and I can't wait to read about you in magazines as Fairy Tail's all-star."

Akane hugged her mother back and then stood up from her bed and grabbed her suitcase. "Well, my train will be leaving soon. I better get down to the station," she said as she began to walk out of her room past Erza.

"Akane," Erza suddenly said stopping her daughter in the doorway. "I want you to take this with you. You most likely will need it." Erza handed Akane an envelope containing 200,000 J. Akane gave it back, "I'm not taking that much from you."

Erza gave her a look that she knew far too well. That look said, 'you will do what I tell you to missy or you won't be doing anything for a month!'

Akane lowered her head in defeat and took the envelope back and continued walking out the door.

/

The two Scarlet women stood on the platform waiting for the train to Magnolia to pull in. "Now the first thing I want you to do is to go to the apartment that we called to get yourself settled and then when you feel up to it go to Fairy Tail and talk to the master about joining. I'm not sure who it is but chances are who ever it is knows me so just-"

"Mention your name and everything will be set. I know what to do mom. I'm not five," Akane interrupted.

"Yeah, not sometimes at least."

Akane looked up to her mother, "That's mean," she said giggling. As she looked back out the train to Magnolia pulled in and passengers got off and passengers got on. Akane gave Erza one last hug before boarding the train.

She sat down next to the window and waved to her mom as the train pulled away, and once she was sure Erza couldn't see her, she began to cry.

/

_A lot has changed for Fairy Tail in 20 years, but for Akane, she went from the "it" girl of Harujion to the newbie of Magnolia._

_In just 20 minutes, Akane Scarlet's whole life changed and as the train pulled away from the station, Akane felt the change was for the worse._


	2. Welcome To The Family

The train came to a halt as the conductor announced to the passengers, "This stop: Magnolia. Please watch the gap when exiting and make sure you have all of your belongings before leaving the train. Thank you for riding and please come again. Next stop…"

Akane exited the train with her suitcase and walked out of the station. She walked down the streets past new people, past new stores, past her new world.

Akane did as her mother instructed her to do and went straight to the apartment building to get herself settled.

She talked with the man behind the desk and then went up to the room number she was given. It wasn't that far up, only five floors and she had a clear view of the town and the ocean, which made her feel somewhat at home. Akane put her suitcase on the floor next to her bed and said to herself, "One task down, one left. I'll unpack later." And with that, she walked out of the apartment and joined the people on the streets of Magnolia once again to go to Fairy Tail.

As she approached the Kardia Cathedral she began to remember the directions her mother gave her.

"When approaching the Cathedral, turn left onto the street lined with trees. Then keep going straight back toward the largest build you see other than the Cathedral."

Akane did as her mother instructed and turned left and continued straight. She passed a little blond haired boy walking his dog, and a few men chatting at a stand. After that, she kept walking ignoring everything and everyone else until she got to Fairy Tail.

Akane approached the building with the familiar symbol hanging on a flag out front and stopped dead in her tracks. She looked up at the tall building and suddenly longed for her mother. She longed for Lilly, and her bed, and the way Erza would sit with her and talk about the day's plans as she braided Akane's hair. She longed for home. As those thoughts came over her, a few tears fell from her eyes and made their way down her cheeks and stopped at her chin.

"Now what would your mother say if she saw you crying?" A strange female voice said.

Akane quickly wiped her eyes and the tears dangling on her chin and looked around for the source of the perky voice. What she found was a white haired woman with a huge, warm smile. "My name is Mirajane. I'm the guild master. I heard from some of your mother's old friend that you were coming and I wanted to make sure you got here safely," Mirajane's smile grew as she talked. "Your name is Akane right? Akane Scarlet?"

Akane nodded slowly watching Mirajane all the while.

She stepped toward Akane and held out her hand, "Well then why are we just standing here? Lets go make you a member of Fairy Tail. That why you came after all." She giggled and tried to be friendly, but Akane didn't take her hand. She only stood there waiting for Mirajane to go in first so she could follow her in.

Akane stepped into the guild and automatically she was hit with unfamiliarity. Worse than when she got off the train. People of all ages laughing and eating and drinking and having a good time with one another. Everyone was with at least two other people talking and involved with their own little world. And then there was Akane, all alone. She followed Mirajane over to the bar and waited as she disappeared into the back room. She came out with a stamp and an inkpad.

"Well, where do you want your symbol?" she asked.

"It's a stamp?" Akane questioned. "My mom's lasted from when she was little. I always thought it was a tattoo."

Mirajane laughed. "Everyone thinks it's a tattoo. It's okay. So where do you want your symbol?" she asked again.

Akane turned around adjusted her shirt so the back of her left shoulder was exposed. "Right here."

"Okay then…" Mirajane said as she stamped Akane's shoulder. "Why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable. Are you hungry? I could get you something to eat if you want."

Akane looked up at Mirajane, "If you don't mind."

Mirajane smiled and told her it was no problem and disappeared into the back room once again. Akane sat down at the bar waiting for the perky guild master to return from where ever she went.

Mirajane came out with a slice of a cheesecake and a cup of chocolate milk, "I hope I didn't get it wrong." She smiled as she set it down in front of Akane.

She just raised an eyebrow wondering how Mirajane knew that's what she wanted.

"It was your mother's favorite comfort food so I figured you'd be fond of it too."

Akane thanked Mirajane as she walked away to go talk to the rest of the guild leaving Akane by herself again. She sighed and started eating her dessert when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, who the hell are you?"

Akane turned around and found a small boy with jet-black hair glaring at her. She didn't answer him, just turned back around to her cake and began eating again.

"Hey are you listening to me? I asked you a question! Answer me!"

Akane continued to ignore him.

"You have no right to ignore Alexander the Great!" He yelled.

"If you think you're being creative by nicknaming yourself after a supposed 'great' historical figure then you're wrong because in actuality 'Alexander the Great' wasn't all that great. In fact, he was pretty pathetic," Akane turned around again. "Then I guess that makes you pretty pathetic too. Huh." Akane turned back around and resumed ignoring the self-proclaimed 'Alexander the Great'.

"What are you doing here anyway? You stick out like a sore thumb with that horrible dye job of yours," he said. Akane's head perked up at the insult.

"You really need to go to a different stylist. Maybe then you won't look like you just came from the clown convention," he said snickering at his comment.

Akane turned around slowly and got out of her chair. As she stared at Alexander he realized that he made a horrible mistake, but before he could apologize for what he said Akane punched him square in the eye so hard it knocked him off his feet. This got the attention of everyone in the guild and all eyes were on the two children when she finally said, "My name is Akane, remember it because I assure, one day, it'll be the last name you hear." Then Akane put some money on the bar next to her plate and headed towards the door. Just as she was about to walk out, she walked into an older man with the same jet-black hair and stumbled backward. The man that was standing behind him seemed to get annoyed when Akane didn't apologize for walking into his friend.

"Hey, Gray, you're just gonna let her-" he was cut off.

"Alex! What happened?" the man named Gray yelled.

Alexander stood up and said coolly, "I just tripped and hit my eye. That's all."

Akane turned half around and glared at him with her head tilted to the right. _Alexander, huh? Next time we meet you won't be so fortunate to leave with only a black eye,_ she thought, then turned around to walk out like she planned to before.

"Hey, you!"

She was stopped again.

Akane turned around to find that it was Gray that had just called to stop her. "What?" Akane asked clearly annoyed.

"Why are you leaving?" he asked confused.

Akane had a simple answer but hesitated before saying it. She thought she'd sound like some sort of freak if she said the truth but realized it didn't matter now that she gave some random kid a black eye in front of the whole guild.

"Truthfully, I prefer to be alone. Being with other people just makes me uneasy." And with that she walked out of the guild before the tears could start.

Gray stood in his place, half not believing what he had just heard and yet he wanted to believe it so badly. Gray's friend walked up to him and said, "Talk about a little bitch, right Gray?"

"Natsu, did she remind you of anyone?"

Natsu thought for a moment. "No, why did she remind you of someone?" he asked.

Gray paused. "I guess I must be imagining things," was his final answer.

_She really did look like her, but with much brighter hair. And what she said to me, 'Being with other people makes me uneasy.' That's what she told me back then. There's no way I'm imagining it…_ Gray trailed off in his thoughts about who the girl was.

Within the 20 minutes Akane spent in the guild, she became a member, scared half the guild senseless, and met a young boy that will affect who she will become.


	3. Round Two

Akane sat on the large rock wall by the ocean. Her hair was down and blowing with the wind. She didn't care for anything else at the moment. She didn't go to the guild that day, in fact she didn't go for two days after she punched Alex, and this was the third in a row. Akane was never fond of attention, that's why she had considered dying her hair brown or at least a darker red. Anything that wasn't as vibrant as it's current color. As she sat there looking out to the ocean she heard someone behind her. "Hey, Akane. Don't even think about ignoring me this time or I'll just knock you off the wall."

Akane turned around to find Alex with a black left eye, flaming with anger. "What?" she asked. She wasn't annoyed, more like surprised that he would go out and find her and continue to be as cocky as he was the first time.

"You're not as great as you think you are so I want a rematch. You just caught me off-guard. That's why you were able to knock me off my feet," he said.

Akane stood up on the wall and looked at Alex. "Well then Alex, bring it on," she said looking down at him sending a chill down his spine. Then he jumped up and attempted a roundhouse kick but missed because Akane jumped off the wall over Alex. He turned around to face Akane and said, "If I win, you better never call me Alex again. It's Zander to you!"

Akane didn't care. "Fine," she said to humor him. Then he lunged at her to punch but she dodged it and got behind him. She whipped her arm around to hit his shoulder with her forearm but he blocked it. Thinking on her feet she grabbed his arm and spun him around and threw him down so his back was on the wall and his head was hanging off the side. She held his right arm with her left hand and her right arm was on his chest securing him down. "I think I win," she said coldly. Then she practically threw him on the ground and walked away with her hands in her pockets and said, "'Till next time, Zander."

Alex sat on the ground watching Akane as she walked away. _She won and still called me Zander. Maybe she's not as bad as I thought she was,_ Alex thought. Then he snickered, _I'll still beat her. There's no way a girl is better than me._ Then he stood up and walked off in the opposite direction as Akane.

Akane closed and locked her front door and sat down on her bed. She took out the crystal that her mom gave her and placed it on the table. "Mom," she commanded the crystal.

Erza sat on the couch with Lilly looking at a picture of her and Akane when she was five. She had short hair back then and it was wavy and much duller than it was when she left. All of a sudden the crystal on the end table began to glow. Erza put her hand on it and then removed it to reveal Akane's face on the crystal. Erza smiled, "Akane, I didn't expect to hear from you this soon," then her face became worried, "is something wrong?"

"No mom, everything's fine," Akane smiled.

"So tell me about some new friends," Erza said trying to create a conversation.

"None. There is this one kid who wont leave me alone, I've actually already beat him up twice."

"Akane! You've been there four days and you've already beat up one kid _twice_?" Erza raised her voice at her daughter.

"Calm down! He was annoying me. I didn't hurt him badly. The first time was only one punch and the second he asked for it. Literally! Also I didn't hurt him. I could have but I didn't. Your welcome."

Erza smiled. _She loves giving attitude to me and not getting punishment for it,_ she thought. "That better be true. If I hear it isn't, I'll bring your ass back here so quickly it'll make your head spin," Erza threatened. Akane just laughed. She believed her mom one hundred percent.

"So have you been to the guild today yet?" Erza asked.

"No." Akane said with no intention of going until she was asked that.

"How many jobs have you been on?"

"None."

"…"

"What?"

"You need to make money. You know that right?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, I know. I think I'm gonna go look for a job today or sometime this week or whatever," Akane answered.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it then. Bye sweetie."

"Bye mom."

Erza's picture disappeared from the crystal and Akane laid back down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, "I need to get a job."

Akane walked into the guild and saw Zander sitting at a table talking to some kids that were about his age. She decided to ignore them and walk past. She started walking and everything was fine. _Okay, so just a little further and-_

"Hey Akane! Come here!" Zander yelled from across the room.

_Shit._


	4. On Our Way

Akane walked up to the table. There was Zander, a boy, and two girls she didn't recognize sitting. _This is the _last_ place I want to be right now!_ She thought keeping an expression on her face that plainly said, 'I'm so unbelievably annoyed at you,' in the nicest way possible. Akane sat down next to Zander feeling insecure and out of place.

"So you finally decided to show your face around here again?" He asked

"Yeah, that's kind of why I'm here. You have a problem with that?" Akane was getting increasingly madder by the second.

"Right now I don't. We'll see as the day goes on," He smiled trying to act cool.

_Dork,_ Akane thought.

"Hi, I'm Pix," a girl with lavender hair, bright blue eyes, and fair skin from the other side of the table said.

There was a pause as Pix looked at her friends sitting next to her, then sighed.

"Well, since the rest of them are being anti-social, I'll just introduce them for you. This is Tameron," she said pointing to the other girl sitting on her right. She was the opposite of Pix. She had royal blue hair, olive skin, and soft amber eyes. Then she pointed to the boy on her left, "and this is Render." He was mostly zoned out and didn't hear anything before Pix said his name. He turned around to try to find out why his name was said, but when he found no reason, he looked back out the window and went back into his own little world. Render had spiky golden hair, emerald eyes, and his skin tone was half way between Pix and Tameron's.

"So you're the new kid we've been hearing about?" Pix said smiling.

Akane nodded.

_God, this is the quietest I've heard this girl since I've met her,_ Zander thought.

"Well were your parents in this guild?"

"My mom was," Akane said.

"What about your dad?" Tameron joined the conversation.

Akane swallowed and looked at her feet, "I don't know. My dad was always a touchy subject with my mom so I never asked." Thankfully for Akane none of them picked up on the fact that she was trying to avoid saying something.

Zander felt bad for her, he had no idea that she was carrying such baggage.

Render turned to face Akane, "You look like someone."

_Does everyone here have the attention span of a piece of wood?_ Akane thought.

"Yeah," Pix said. She paused to think for a moment. "But not someone we know," she finally said. "Someone that we've only seen pictures of. Like we never met her in real life but we've seen her all over the place."

As Pix and Render thought about whom Akane looked like, Tameron stood up and said, "Well, we have a job to do. We'll see you two around I guess." The other two saw that they had to go and stood up, said goodbye and left Zander and Akane alone at the table.

"Akane, I have something to talk to you about," he said after a moment of silence.

Akane didn't respond; she just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"You're living on your own right now right?"

Akane nodded. She wasn't in the mood for talking that day.

"Well, you need money, and I need money, so how about we make a team? That way we can do difficult jobs and get more money for each of us," Zander said hopefully.

Akane just sat in her seat staring at Zander, wondering if it was a good idea. _We'll probably wind up fighting all the time,_ Akane thought.

"Sure, why not? I'll give it a try. But if this doesn't work out I'm taking jobs on my own okay?"

Zander nodded. He couldn't care less if they hated each other, but there was no denying the fact that she was strong and she would help him get more money. He was selfish, true, but she needed the money just as much as he did.

Zander reached into his pocket and took out a crumpled up piece of paper that said: EXTERMINATE MONSTER TERRORIZING THE TOWN.

Akane sat at the table looking at the piece of paper, and then she looked at Zander. He was proud of the job he had picked to be their first as a team. After a moment of silence she stood up. "Meet me at the bridge where we had our last fight in 1 hour. And bring whatever you would need. Pack for a day or two," Akane said as she walked away from him to go get everything together.

She left Zander sitting at the table by himself. _Something's different about her today. I'm not sure what, but something is different,_ he thought.

**XC**

**CX**

Akane sat where she was before on the ledge waiting for Zander.

"How long have you been here?" he asked as he approached her.

Akane shrugged, "'bout five minutes."

"Oh," Zander didn't know how to respond to her so he let the conversation slip into an awkward silence. "Should we be on our way?" he asked trying to be cool.

Akane stood up staring at him. She was quiet for about a minute when she finally said, "Dork…" then she walked toward the train station to go their job.

Zander stood in his place twitching. _This SO was a bad idea!_ He thought. _I should have gone by myself!_

Once he was done ranting to himself in his mind, he followed the red-haired preteen to the train station.

XC CX

The train ride was nice and quiet. Akane spent most of the ride looking out the window in her own little world until Zander broke her out of it. "Hey put this in your hair would ya?" He pulled a stark white ribbon out of his pocket and held it in his outstretched hand for Akane to take.

Akane took it. "Why?" she asked.

"Because," was the only response she got.

"Okay then, let me see the sheet."

"Why?"

"Because," she said smirking while she mocked him. Zander dug into his pocket and pulled out the folded beige sheet of crumpled up paper. Akane placed it on her lap as she put the ribbon in her hair. When she was finished she unfolded the paper and read it carefully this time. As a result, she saw a line she hadn't seen before: "Attracted to red and white."

Akane looked up, ready to kill Zander. "That's why you're making me wear this ribbon? Wait that's the only reason you asked me to come too isn't it?" she asked, her voice rising in volume from fury every second.

"What?" Zander asked, pretending to be oblivious to the situation.

" 'Attracted to red and white'? That's why you asked me to come?"

Zander continued his charade, "what? No I would never. I asked you to come because I can't defeat a monster like this by myself." Then his tone changed from fake to embarrassment. "I've always needed my dad to do things like this… This is the first job I've gone on without him."

"You know I don't believe you right? If this so called monster is shorter than five feet then you're a dead man," Akane threatened.

Zander scoffed, "Ha, whatever."

After that, the rest of the train ride was in silence.


	5. Thats No Five Foot Monster

The two children stood on the platform looking for their client. "It says that they would be wearing a blue shirt and a black skirt," Zander said looking at the sheet of paper. He looked up to say something else to Akane and found that she wasn't there. Upon further inspection of the area he saw the redhead waving him over while she stood with a woman in a blue shirt and black skirt. As Zander approached them he noticed that the only red in the area was Akane's hair, no one was wearing red, there was no red on the walls, not even red flowers. The same goes for the color white. _I guess the paper didn't lie. Red and white are targets for this thing._ Zander thought.

"You must be very brave to come here like that," the client said to Akane.

"Come here like what?" She asked, praying she wouldn't comment about her hair.

"To come here with such red hair and no way to cover it up. You're either very brave or very foolish."

_Just keep smiling Akane, she's the client, you can't hurt her. _Akane thought with a smile plastered on her face. That was when Zander stepped up to the plate. "You see ma'am, it's all part of our plan to kill the beast. Akane here is a very talented mage and her red hair helps create a perfect trap for the beast. But for now," Zander took off his jacket and placed it over Akane's head, "we'll keep this on her as to not draw it out prematurely."

"Ah, yes," the woman said, "let's go back to my house and I'll explain everything there."

The three of them started walking, Akane and Zander following the woman.

Akane leaned over to Zander and whispered, "Congratulations, you just saved that woman from certain death."

"I do my best."

"My name is Nikki by the way," the client told them.

"Very please to meet you Ms. Nikki. I'm Akane and my friend here is Zander."

As they walked, the young mages couldn't help but notice the weird stares they were getting from the people they passed. Zander's jacket couldn't cover all of Akane's hair and the people that actually saw the red hair were quickly moving in the opposite direction.

Zander was amazed at the mansion that their client owned. "You two can wait here, I'll make us some tea," Nikki told the two mages.

After she left the room Zander walked up to Akane and said, "no wonder she wants this monster gone, if it wrecks her houses it would be pretty devastating."

However, Akane wasn't listening to him. She was focused on a picture of Nikki and a man hugging each other with smiles on their faces. Zander walked over to see the picture as well. "I wouldn't get your hopes up Akane, they're probably still together."

"Actually, they're not," Akane said with sadness in her voice.

"How do you know?"

Akane pointed to Nikki's left hand. "That's a wedding ring. And it was recent too. You can tell because Nikki looks exactly the same. The only difference is she isn't smiling," then Akane lowered her voice and looked into Zander's eyes, "he was killed by the monster. Probably within the past month."

Zander was still skeptical. "How can you be certain? How do you know they're not just having some hard times?"

"If they were having hard times she wouldn't have the picture on display like this. It would be more off to the side and there would be a picture of her or someone close to her on display," Akane said taking up a sudden interest in her feet.

"What makes you so sure?" Zander asked.

Akane swallowed then paused. Then finally she said, "I've seen how widows decorate their house after their husbands die."

But before Zander could ask any more questions Nikki came back into the room with a try full of tea and things. "Tea is ready you two."

Akane turned around smiling sweetly, "thank you very much."

Still confused Zander thanked Nikki as well then sat down on the couch next to Akane.

After a moment of silence, Nikki said, "I see you two have taken up a liking with that picture back there."

Zander froze but Akane kept her cool, "yes. It's a very beautiful picture of you."

"Thank you," Nikki took a sip from her teacup. "I suppose you two would like to know why all of a sudden I put in a request to have this monster killed. Am I correct?"

Akane took a sip of her tea and Zander answered. "Yeah," he said. Akane put her cup down and elbowed him. "Any history you can give us on the situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you," Akane said.

When Nikki looked down to adjust her cup on its coaster Akane looked at Zander completely disgusted. 'Yeah?' she mouthed. Just before Nikki looked up Akane resumed her position from before.

"We used to live in harmony with it. Up until very recently that is. About three or so months ago he started attacking the town. Raiding through, crushing houses and anything else that stood in his way, taking girls, etcetera. And about-" Nikki stopped and swallowed hard and took a deep breath in. Akane and Zander exchanged glances that agreed that Akane was correct earlier. She tightened the grip on her hands before she continued talking to them. "About one month ago when my husband was on his way home from his job it decided to make another raid. My husband tried his best to escape but it wasn't good enough." The sobs crept out between Nikki's words every so often that they finally took over and she broke out into a hysterical crying fit. "Aaren was killed before he got onto our block."

Zander didn't know how to deal with a crying woman. He's seen one of his friends help his little sister but he never had to help someone personally. He looked at Akane, scared and not knowing what to do asking her for help. Akane got up from her seat and sat down next to Nikki and comforted her until she regained her composure. "I'm very sorry for your loss," was all that Zander could get out that he deemed appropriate.

Nikki continued, "so I put in a request to Fairy Tale to get the beast killed. Everyone is worried for their lives in this town and a means of end needs to be reached."

Zander stood up suddenly and proudly. "Leave this to us ma'am. You and your town will no longer have anything to worry about," he proclaimed inspiring Akane as well. She stood up and walked over to him, thanked Nikki for the tea and the information, and the two young mages were on their way to do their job.

"So how exactly do you suggest we're going to kill this beast?" Zander asked on their way to where the beast lived causing Akane to stop dead in her tracks. "I thought you already had a plan!" Akane shrieked.

"Getting you to come was only half the plan. You can come up with how to kill it after you lour it out of hiding."

Akane didn't like the arrangement and Zander didn't seem to care. "Why don't you put on a red wig and go and lour it out and then I'll kill it?"

This comment didn't go unnoticed by Zander. "Are you saying I can't kill the beast? Just tell me what to do and I'll do it!"

"Wait," Akane said realizing something, "why are you asking me how to kill it?"

"Well you're Erza's daughter. She must have taught you something. Come on Akane you have to know something about giant monsters. Hasn't your mom told you any stories about her adventures."

Akane paused to think, "Well there was this one time, but she had three other mages to help… then again it was a result of Zerif's dark magic…"

"My dad told me about that! He helped! If we both use what our parents told us we'll be able to take this thing down!" Zander cheered.

Akane looked up. "So I guess that's the plan then," she said with a half smile.

"I guess so."

Then Akane held out her hand. "What?" Zander asked.

"It's been a pleasure working with you Zander," Akane said seriously.

Zander shook her hand. "Really?" he asked.

"No." Akane let go of his hand and walked away.

Zander stood in his place for a moment, and then ran to catch up with Akane. "Wait, so do you think we'll make it out of here alive?" Zander asked. Akane could tell he wasn't joking around this time. He had genuine fear in his eyes. Akane stopped walking and looked him square in the eye. "Of course we will Zander," she said reassuringly. "I promise. So here's the plan. I'll get the monster out of hiding. Then once you see it, use whatever magic you have to kill it or at least keep it from getting away until I can get over to you and help. Deal?"

"Deal."

The two preteens walked up to a cave and stood gazing up to the top, amazed at the height. "That is no five foot monster," Akane said under her breath.

"Tell me about it. Ready?" Zander looked over to Akane.

Akane shrugged. "As I'll ever be."

As Akane walked into the cave Zander looked down and said under his breath, "don't die on me."

Akane looked back. "What did you say?" she asked.

Zander looked up, "nothing, go." With that, Akane walked into the cave and made as much noise as she possible could.

Zander went and hid behind a bush so the monster wouldn't see him before he was ready.

After about three minutes Akane came running out of the cave. "GET READY ZANDER!" Akane shrieked. Zander came out of his hiding spot to see a 30-foot green Cyclops run out of the opening of the cave. It had a horn in the middle of its head warts everywhere. Zander took a deep breath in before fisting his right hand and slapping it against his left palm and screaming, "Ice make: cage!"

Akane was amazed to find the hideous beast to be trapped in a giant cage. Her amazement was broken when Zander called over to her, "I can't hold it very long Akane! Do something!"

"Uh… right," Akane called back. She held out her pointer and middle fingers and made a windmill motion with her arms starting with her right. Her arms stopped with her right hand under her left with about a foot between them as if she was holding a ball. She kept her breathing constant and stead. In through her nose, out through her mouth. _In, out. In, out,_ She kept telling herself.

"Akane! I can't hold it much longer!" Zander yelled. His hands were trembling and sweat was dripping down his face.

"Ten more seconds!" Akane called back.

After a few more seconds Zander called out again, "AKANE!"

Akane focused on what she was doing. "Three… Two… One," she said quietly. Then called to Zander, "GO!"

Zander dropped his arms and the cage he created disappeared as well. Between Akane's hands, a ball of light had formed. With a loud grunt Akane put her left hand into a fist and brought it down to her hip and quickly pushed the ball of light forward with her right palm.

The ball of lightning went flying and made contact with the beast, but kept going and made a hole in its stomach. Seconds later, it fell to the ground, dead. The two mages heaved waiting for their victory to sink in. Suddenly, Zander let out a cheer of victory. Akane just smiled as she fell to the ground and landing on her knees. She supported her upper body by placing her knuckles on the ground and continued to heave.

Zander looked over to share his joy with Akane but instead became shocked and worried when he saw her on the ground and rushed over to see what was wrong.

As Zander approached her he saw blood on the ground next to her hand. He sat down next to her. "Akane, what happened? Is, is that your blood?" he asked afraid to hear the answer.

(A/N)

Thought I'd end the chapter here on a nice cliffy. =] Here's my first author's note in the story and not to sound cocky, I think it's a pretty good story so far. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think, but please try to stick to constructive criticism and don't tell me that you hate it. Lets be honest, if you hate it then why are you still reading to chapter five? Chapter six soon to come =]

Love always, neptune sea 3


	6. Success And Failure

Akane looked at her right palm and chuckled. It was raw, red and bleeding. "Huh. I guess so," she said looking up at him with her half smile on her face.

"What do you mean 'guess so'?" Zander shrieked amazed that she didn't notice until he said something.

By now villagers that had heard the thud of the monster hitting the ground had come to see what was going on and were cheering for the two eleven-year-olds that had just liberated the town.

Akane turned around and saw the villagers cheering, looked back at Zander and smiled, this time a true smile and let out a small laugh.

"Lets take care of that hand of yours," Zander said helping up Akane.

"Yeah."

The two sat in on a bench in the center of town while the local doctor fixed Akane's hand.

"So what happened?" Zander asked.

Akane took a few seconds staring at her hand then without looking up, she answered Zander, "I've never really used my magic to that extent before."

After a few seconds of silence she looked up at him and saw the look of shock on his face. "What?" she asked, "I'm only eleven and this was my first job. Give me a break."

Zander didn't speak to her for a little bit after that. Some villagers were asking him questions about how they killed the beast and he told them the truth… mostly. Akane giggled at the embellishment he added to the details ever so often but Zander ignored her.

"Okay, you should be good," the doctor said. As he stood up Akane thanked him. "No thank you miss. Without the two of you I would be out of a job."

Akane smiled, and then looked around for Nikki. After a few minutes she spotted her walking over to them.

"Here you go," Nikki said handing them an envelope each. "The total of both is what is promised on the sheet, I gave each of you half." Then as Akane and Zander took the envelopes out of her hands she said, "I'm truly grateful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now Aaren can rest in peace. Thank you." Tears crept out of the corners of her eyes. Akane stood up and bowed deeply to Nikki. When she stood up straight she said, "You're very welcome." Then Zander stood up as well. "Glad we could be of service to you ma'am."

The crowd started to clear and Zander started to walk back to the train station, but Akane stayed behind with Nikki. After a moment of silence Akane asked the question that had been bothering her since she found out about Aaren.

"Akane, is there something wrong?" Nikki asked.

"I'm sorry if this seems rude but," she paused not knowing if she should ask. Akane swallowed hard and looked down at her feet.

"What?" Nikki questioned.

Akane took a deep breath and looked up. "Are you pregnant?"

Nikki was shocked and placed her hands on her stomach. "How could you…" she trailed off in shock.

"Lucky guess. I know it might not be much help but my mom was pregnant with me when my father died on his job. In fact, according to my mom he was on his way home like Aaren was. My mom would tell me that going through the pregnancy by herself was difficult, but once she had me, going through her days, no longer alone made the pain of losing her husband easier to bare. It will get better." Then Akane bowed again. When she stood up, Nikki whipped the tears off her cheeks. "Thank you," Akane said quietly.

"No. Thank you Akane." Then Nikki smiled like in the picture Akane and Zander were looking at.

Unknown to Akane, once Zander noticed she wasn't following him; he turned around and was about to go back to her. He stopped within earshot of their conversation and heard what Akane told Nikki about her dad. He was amazed that even after that she chose to leave home and become a mage.

Akane started to walk over to where Zander was and he freaked and tried to make it look like he didn't hear any of the conversation.

"You ready?" he asked once she got over to him.

"Mh-hm."

The two walked back to the train station in silence. He wanted to tell her that he heard about her dad, but he decided not to.

The train pulled up to the station and the two got on. They took seats across from each other and for the first few minutes of the train ride, they rode in silence. Then Akane took the white ribbon out of her hair and handed it back to Zander. "Keep it," he said pushing her hand back.

"Thanks. So what did I tell ya?" she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm pretty sure we're alive."

Zander looked down at his hand, the up at Akane and pinched her right shoulder.

"Ow!" she squealed.

"Did that hurt?" he asked.

Akane gave him a glare before answering, "Uh, yeah."

Zander sat back triumphantly, "Then yeah. I guess we are alive."

The train was quiet after that.

About half way through the train ride Zander built up the courage to tell Akane what he had heard. "Akane, I need to tell you something."

Akane picked her head off her palm and brought her gaze back into the train car, "What is it dork?"

Zander gave her a disapproving look. "Okay one, stop calling me dork," he started. "And two," he paused, "I heard what you told Nikki."

Akane's smirk faded and she sat up straight in her seat. "What?" she asked with slight venom in her voice.

"What you… what you told her about your dad," Zander said. He was afraid of what Akane would do to him next.

"What?" she asked again. That was the only thing she could manage to say at that moment. She was shocked, scared, angry, nervous, and strangely relieved all at the same time. _What do I do? Should I lie and tell him he heard wrong? Or should I just man up and threaten him not to tell anyone? What do I do dad? What do I do?_ Akane thought.

"I know we're not technically friends," Zander started. "But I'm not going to tell anyone if that's what you're worried about. I promise."

Suddenly Akane slipped back into the way she was when she first met Zander, cold and annoyed. "Just pretend like you never heard that conversation." Then she looked out the window once again.

"Okay," Zander said quietly. Then he sunk back into his seat. The only noise was the train engine and the chattering of the other passengers. Neither of them talked for the rest of the train ride.


	7. Author's Note

Dear readers,

I'm very sorry for waiting almost a year to update! I feel really bad about it!

I'm working on chapter seven right now since I have recently decided to continue reading Fairy Tail. The problem was that I caught up to what I could find, and then just never went back to keep up with the new releases.

And with catching up, I'm learning some things that are inaccurate in my story. So while writing chapter seven, I will also be working on rewriting the other six chapters and making them more accurate.

Once again, I'm truly sorry and I will have chapter seven up soon.

Thank you for all of your support, it really means a lot to me =]

~Frankenstein's Mom


	8. Bold Moves

**I'm sorry for not updating in forever! And then teasing you loyal readers with a stupid author's note! But I've recently gotten back into Fairy Tail and I'm currently all caught up with the manga! (I'm not even gonna try to get caught up with the anime right now) Not to mention that its summer time and I have more time to read Fairy Tail religiously and update.**

**But first there are some people that I would like to thank because in reality it was the reviews I had that inspired me to go back and work on this! Thank you wenperson, Luna Lumiini, Pajamaly, TillyMe, and abc (anonymous review).**

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The train pulled into Magnolia and the two mages went back to their houses. Neither said a word to each other, just walked away.

On the walk home Akane looked up to the sky. A small tear slipped out of her right eye. Akane quickened her pace to make sure she was home when the majority of her tears slipped out.

When Akane made it back to her apartment building, she practically ran up the stares and down the hall to her room. Once in, Akane locked the door behind her, leaned back, and began to cry.

She looked up to the shelf where she had a picture of Erza, Lilly, and herself. The same one Erza had back home. Next to it was a picture of a man with brown hair and a comforting smile.

I'm sorry dad. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I haven't even been here a week and I couldn't keep my promise to you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, she continually thought. I'm sorry…

**_Flashback_**

_She sat down next to the window and waved to her mom as the train pulled away, and once she was sure Erza couldn't see her, she began to cry._

_Akane whipped the tears off her cheeks before anyone could see her. She didn't want to be pegged as weak or a crybaby by the ones around her. She took a small picture out of her suitcase and gazed upon the man in the frame._

_"Dad," Akane said staring at the picture. A faint smile started to form on her lips. So this is my dad, Akane thought._

_Before that day, she had never really seen a picture of her father, but Erza wanted Akane to take it with her to pun in her apartment._

_"Keep it as a reminder," Akane echoed what Erza told her when she gave it to Akane. "Reminder of what?" Akane wondered out loud. She quickly deemed that unimportant and continued to gaze at the picture._

_"I promise, promise to keep my baggage to myself and always work with you in my heart. I promise not to brag about being the daughter of you and the famed Titania Erza. Most of all, I promise to keep your story a story only for the ears of the people who earned it, and to the rest, just a mystery. All I ask of you is to watch over me on jobs and guide me from your past knowledge of this world. I love you dad."_

_One by one droplets of water fell on the face of the photographed man._

_Akane sat in her seat by the window and now that she was certain that Erza couldn't see her, she began to cry._

**_End Flashback_**

Akane had slid down the door until she was seated on the welcome mat that was complimentary in each apartment.

"That dork," Akane grumbled. "That wasn't his story to hear. He hadn't earned it. That, that, that…" Akane struggled to find the words to describe Zander's actions that day.

She pulled her legs into her chest and placed her forehead on her knees. "That ass," she finally whispered into her chest.

/

Zander opened a door and walked into a decent sized house. He placed his bag down next to the door and took a deep breath in through his nose. "I'm home!" he called to his mother and father.

Gray walked into the hallway and greeted his son. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Well," was all Zander said as he walked up the stairs to go to his room.

"You know you're mom's making dinner," Gray called up to him.

Zander closed his door and sat in silence without answering his dad.

/

The next day Zander walked into the guild alone and spotted Pix and Akane sitting together. Akane looked up and met his eyes with an icy glare.

Swallowing hard, Zander walked over to talk to them. He felt he needed to clear the air between him and Akane. As he went to take a seat across from Pix he saw that Akane was holding a sheet of paper.

"So you're really going through with it?" Pix asked the redhead not acknowledging Zander's presence at the table.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Akane asked.

"Going through with what?" Zander asked joining the conversation.

Akane just glared at him. Pix looked from Zander to Akane, then back to Zander. "She's taking a job by herself," she then turned back to Akane. "Most people take jobs with teams. Didn't the two of you just come back form your job? Why don't you take Zander with you again? Please Akane, I don't want you to get hurt," Pix begged.

Akane smirked. "C'mon Pix, have more faith in me."

Then Zander remembered something Akane must have let slip her mind. He took a wild guess at who her mother was, and got it right. "Yeah Pix, she's Akane Scarlet. She can do anything, right?"

Akane caught on and glared at him before noticing Pix's amazed look. "No way! You're mom is Erza Scarlet?" she asked.

Akane nodded, her anger towards Zander swelling up inside her.

"That's amazing! You look so much like her! Do you use re-quip magic too?" Pix continued with questions.

Akane forced a chuckle. "No, but she's been bothering me to learn how to use re-quip magic. If she finds out about my hand though, she's definitely going to make me learn," Akane explained looking at her bandaged hand. It hadn't healed completely and she wanted to keep it wrapped so it didn't become infected.

Pix's expression became worried again. "Akane, take someone with you please. A person's magic isn't supposed to backfire on the mage. Nonetheless burn them," Pix pleaded.

"Don't worry about me, I'm stronger than I look," Akane said grinning.

After a short pause, Zander spoke out of guilt. "At least let Mirajane look at it."

Pix's face lit up. "He's right Akane. Maybe there is something Mirajane can do for it. Or maybe she can point you to someone who can help," she said.

"Okay, I'll do it after I get back," Akane said getting up, but was stopped when Render who was standing in her path.

"You really should go now," he said sternly.

Akane lowered her eyes and was quiet.

"Please?" Pix asked.

"Fine. I'll go talk to Mirajane now," Akane said defeated and walked away towards the counter Mirajane worked at.

/

"Mirajane? Pix, Render, and Zander want you to take a look at my hand. They think its something bad, but I don't," Akane explained as she sat down at the counter.

"Sure! Take the bandage off and I'll take a look. Oh by the way Akane, you can call me Mira, or Mira-chan if you want. You don't have to call me Mira," Mirajane said sweetly.

Akane nodded as she took the white bandage off. Once she took the bandage off, she revealed to Mirajane her burnt palm. The center was clearly a third degree burn and as it moved closer to the edges of her palm, it gradually changed from a third degree burn, to a second, to a first.

"Hm...And how did this happen?" Mirajane asked.

"During our first job, I used my magic on a monster that Zander was holding still for me and I passed out after I took it out. When I woke up Zander told me that he got the local doctor to clean up my hand for me," Akane explained.

"Well, from the looks of it, its from a using a magic that isn't native to your body. What kind of magic did you say you used again?" Mirajane asked thoughtfully.

"I use lightning magic. I can create a lightning ball in my hand and shoot it at my opponent. What do you mean not native?" Akane asked confused.

"Since your mom uses re-quip magic, that would be what is native to your body. Learning a foreign magic can sometimes have bad side effects. You should probably talk to someone, and I know just the person. His name is Laxus, he's not the nicest person in the world, but you would probably be able to put up with him. He uses lightning magic too and-"

"I don't have time. I'm taking a job this afternoon," Akane cut her off.

"Who's going with you?" Mirajane asked worried about the young girl's safety.

"No one. Just me."

"Akane, take someone with you, please?" Mirajane asked.

"You sound like Pix!" Akane complained. "I don't need to take anyone with me! I'm fine by myself! Why does no one here have any confidence in me?" Akane cried as she stormed away from Mirajane and out the doors of Fairy Tail, with her job in her hand. She was going to take this job by herself no matter what. She wasn't going to let anyone get in her way. "That's not how a Scarlet goes about things," she told herself.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who reads my stories! I really appreciate it! Don't forget to review!**

**Reviews make a happy mother of Frankenstein! =]**


	9. But I Don't Like Attention

**So sorry for the late update guys! But what I love about everyone who reads this is that even though I haven't updated in like two months or more, I'm still getting an insane amount of hits when I check my story stats! I love you guys~!**

* * *

Zander sat at a table with Pix, Render, and Tameron. All four were silent, watching the insanity ensue between the older members. Occasionally two or three younger kids would join in the craziness. "Hey, Zander," Tameron spoke up bringing the attention back to the table. "I don't think I've seen Akane since the two of you got back from your first mission. Is she sick or something?" she asked innocently.

The three others suddenly became visibly worried. It had been six months since Akane had left on her mission by herself. Its not like they hadn't been worrying about her for the past six months, but they've been able to reassure themselves that she would be coming back soon. However, when Tameron brought it up, they had all realized how long she actually had been gone. "She took a job by herself six months ago. It wasn't an easy job either, but she insisted on going it alone," Pix explained.

"I haven't heard anything about her since she left. Do you guys think she's okay?" Render asked.

Pix shrugged. Zander scoffed. "Knowing her, she's probably going to come back claiming that she finished after the first two months, but went home to spend the last four months with her mom because the little pansy got home sick."

"Excuse me, dork?"

Zander whipped his head around to find the source of the voice. Akane stood tall behind him, covered in bandages and cuts and scabs, arms folded, scowl on her face. Pix, Tameron, and Render jumped up from their seats to greet the redhead while Zander sat in awe, staring at her. The three ran over to her and hugged her, happy to see their friend after six month. "What happened to you?" Pix asked worriedly examining the cuts she had attained.

"I took a job," Akane answered. Then her scowl broke into a small smile. "It sure was worth it though. It paid pretty well."

"It doesn't matter how well it paid if you got this hurt," Tameron said.

"I'm still alive. What's the problem?" Akane asked.

The team was silent, trying to come to terms with what Akane had just said. Is she serious? Zander thought. He opened his mouth to say something when Render spoke over him. "My mom is friends with a doctor. You're going to go see her, whether you like it or not."

Zander chuckled. "Good luck with that," he told Render.

Akane smiled and sat down on the table with her feet on the seat next to Zander. "The dork's right you know. I'm not going to a doctor. I don't need to. I'm thirteen. I can take care of myself you know." She took a coin out of her pocket and began flipping it over her pointer finger, an old habit that she had tried to break since she had left home. Pix looked at her. "You turned thirteen on your job?"

Akane nodded.

"Did you celebrate?" Pix asked again.

Akane shrugged. "I was on a job. I couldn't celebrate."

Pix's mouth fell open as the four young mages stared at the redhead silently. "Well," Akane said after becoming uncomfortable in the silence, "I'm tired. I'm going home. Later guys!" She got up and walked out of the guild.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Pix said to the group to get them to lean in. She began to whisper a plan.

/

Akane was happily asleep. She didn't get many opportunities to sleep as soundly as she was now while on her job. Unfortunately, a loud banging on her door woke her up from her pleasant slumber. She was planning on just ignoring the knocking and going back to sleep when she heard it again. Grumbling, Akane got out of bed and walked over to the door. Upon opening it, she deeply regretted even getting out of bed. Zander stood in the hallway smiling like an idiot. "Oh good, you're awake. I was afraid you'd be asleep. Lets go," he said completely oblivious to how pissed off she was. "I was asleep," she grumbled. "And how did you even find where I live?"

"Don't worry about it. C'mon!" Zander grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her apartment.

"W-wait! Zander! Stop!" Akane squeaked surprisedly. Zander stopped pulling and turned around to face the redhead as if to ask what. "I just woke up, I'm not ready at all to go somewhere, and I have to lock my door and stuff," she complained turning around to go back to her apartment to get ready to go wherever he was pulling her to.

"Fine, but be quick. We're on a schedule," Zander said following her back.

"Zander I swear to God if you accepted another job for us without telling me the day I got back from a six month job, I will see to it that you deeply regret it," she threatened as she began to get ready.

"Don't worry, I didn't accept a job for us, but Pix wants us to meet her at the guild. She said it was for like her parents anniversary and she wants her parents to meet her friends or something like that," Zander said walking aimlessly around her apartment, looking around. He stopped in front of a shelf. There were two picture frames sitting side by side. One of a much younger Akane, a woman he assumed to be Erza holding a pit bull. As he examined the picture he saw that the two females were almost replicas of each other. Then he looked at the other picture on the shelf. A smiling man with brown hair. Something about just seemed warm and inviting. There is no way thats her dad, Zander thought. Akane is cold and standoffish, he looks like anyone could talk to him. Akane walked out of her room in a red T-shirt that had fabric that hung over her biceps and a periwinkle skirt. Her hair was in a braid with a white ribbon at the end. "Hey, its the ribbon I gave you," Zander said surprised that she would still wear it.

"No. I threw yours out. My mom gave me this one. You can tell because the color is a bit more faded and not as white because it's more worn,"Akane explained nonchalantly.

Zander's eye twitched. At least we know that she didn't change during her job, he thought. "Whatever, are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah. So what is this thing Pix is making us go to again?" Akane asked. Zander didn't answer her, but instead just grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door. Akane locked her door after she was in the hallway and the two left the building together, neither having any intention of talking to the other.

/

When they got outside of Fairy Tail Akane froze. "What is it now?" Zander asked annoyed.

Akane narrowed her eyes. "Why is Fairy Tail so quiet?" she skeptically asked.

"I don't know. Pix's parents are probably giving a speech or something that adults do at their anniversary," Zander answered. "C'mon." He began to walk in and Akane followed. When he got to the door, he waited for Akane to catch up to him. "Okay, something is going on and it isn't Pix's parents' anniversary is it?" Akane asked. Zander smiled and opened the door. "Nope," he said as he pushed Akane in ahead of him.

"SURPRISE!"

People jumped out of any hiding place possible. Akane stood frozen in place, staring around the room wide eyed like a deer caught in headlights. Pix ran over to the red haired teen and hugged her tightly. "Happy belated birthday, Akane! You're thirteen!" she cheered.

Akane looked to the lavender haired girl. "What the hell?" she asked softly.

Pix became confused. "You said your birthday passed while you were on your job, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, but what is all this?" Akane asked again clarifying what she meant the first time.

"This is your birthday party. You're new so I didn't completely expect you to know, but in Fairy Tail, we're not just a guild of mages. We're a family. Normally we don't do big parties like this for birthdays, but since you just came back from your second job, which was a six month job and you did it by yourself, well, I thought that some super celebrating was needed!" Pix took Akane's hands and smiled as she looked the redhead in the eye.

"But..." Akane mumbled as she looked out to everyone smiling and watching the two girls. Tameron and Render were on their way over to wish Akane a happy birthday.

"But what?" Tameron asked nervously.

"But I hate attention," Akane said quietly as she looked back to her friends. The team laughed. "What?" Akane asked, embarrassed. I didn't say anything funny, did I?

"Sweetie," Pix started, "you're going to have to get used to it. I mean, with that hair, your talent-"

"You're family," Tameron added, being sure to not spill the beans.

"You're bound to get attention," Pix finished.

Render put his arm around her shoulders. "So just enjoy it. Now, let the party begin!" he declared. Everyone cheered and the guild suddenly came to life. Food was being walked to tables and people were laughing more than other days, moving around more than other days, were louder than other days, seemed more alive than other days. Akane smiled. "Enjoy the attention? Heh. Fine, but just for today," she said to herself as she went to join her friends sitting at a table filled with food. On one side of the table was Zander, Pix and a small boy with blond hair. On the other side were Render and Tameron. Tameron tapped the space between the two motioning for Akane to sit with them. "Akane, this is Ian," Pix said gesturing to the blond boy next to her. Ian tensed at the mention of his name and looked up sheepishly. "H-hi. Happy birthday," he said timidly.

Akane looked at the boy, trying to figure out why he seemed so nervous when Pix leaned across the table. "Try smiling sweetie," she said with a small laugh.

Akane furrowed her eyebrows when she realized she was scowling. "Oh, oh um, um, yeah," she said like she was tripping over her words. Akane smiled at Ian. "Hi." Suddenly, strong hands came down on her shoulders and shook her slightly. "Its the birthday girl!" a voice boomed from behind Akane, causing her to jump slightly. She turned around to see a familiar pink haired man with a blond woman standing next to him holding a young girl. "Ian! Getting on the birthday girl's good side I see," he said with a laugh. When he laughed he tossed his head back.

"Hi dad," Ian said lowering his head and looking down at his feet.

"Natsu," the blond woman scolded.

"Oh, whats a little public humiliation? I had my fill of it growing up. Gray has too!" Natsu turned around to the man he was talking about to find he was talking to people without a shirt on.

"Dad," Zander said humiliated covering his face with his hands.

Akane suppressed a laugh. "That's your dad?" she asked. Zander didn't answer out of humiliation.

The blond haired woman swatted down to Akane's eye level. "Sorry about before. My name is Lucy and this is my husband Natsu. We're Ian's parents. And this," Lucy said adjusting the small girl in her arms, "is Lyla Heart, but most of Fairy Tail just calls her Lyla."

Lyla had pink hair like her fathers and big blue eyes. "Hi~!" she said happily.

"Hello there. My name's Akane," she responded giggling slightly. She turned back to Ian and smiled as if to say that she thought Lyla was the cutest thing in the world. When she turned back to Lucy, the older woman had a soft smile on her face. "Theres a whole generation of Fairy Tail that looked up to and admired your mom and would love to meet you."

"Oh, um," Akane turned back to her table. "I, I'll be right back," she said as she got up and walked away with Lucy.

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**Thank you for reading and don't forget to review because that is what really gets me determined to write more! Sorry if there are like mistakes and what not because I wrote this at like 2 am!**

**Next chapter Akane will meet the people Erza worked with in Fairy Tail!**


	10. History repeats

**I LOVE ALL OF YOU! SO MANY HITS IN ONLY A FEW DAYS!**

**Well now, time for the insanity that is Fairy Tail to ensue!**

**As always, I do not own Fairy Tail, however I do own the new generation that this story is about ~! =3**

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Akane walked awkwardly next to Lucy as she approached a group of the older members of Fairy Tail. A few members would cheer, "Hey, its the birthday girl!" as she walked passed and some would simply pat her on the back and wish her a happy birthday. Lucy walked over to a specific group. They were the loudest group there was, all where cheering and joking around with each other. A woman with blue hair was the first to see the young 'birthday girl'. She grabbed a man's arm and pulled him over to Lucy and Akane. "So, you must be Akane! Hi, I'm Levy and this is Gajeel. We're friends of your mom back from when she was part of Fairy Tail," she said smiling.

The aforementioned man looked from Levy to Akane, confused as to what was going on. "Um, what?"

Natsu popped up behind Gajeel and patted him on the back. "Good job Gajeel! Even I knew who her mom was!" he laughed.

"Yeah, because I told you!" Gray yelled at Natsu from across the room.

"What was that ice boy?" Natsu yelled as he walked away from the group to go fight with Gray.

Levy looked to Gajeel and said in a hushed tone, "She's Erza's daughter." Gajeel stared at Akane for a moment silently.

"I'm Akane," she said awkwardly waving. "Hi."

Lucy and Levy laughed at the awkwardness that formed between the two. "Lets go introduce you to everyone else," Lucy said walking Akane away from Levy and Gajeel. "Well, as you know over there is Natsu. The one with no shirt on is Gray, Alexander's dad. Oh, and over there is Alexander's mom. Juvia! Come over here! I want to introduce you to someone!" Lucy called waving a woman with short light blue hair over.

"Yes, what did you want Lucy?" Juvia asked when she walked over.

Lucy placed a free hand on Akane's shoulder. "This is Akane Scarlet," Lucy took care of the introductions.

Juvia bent down so that she was closer to eye level with Akane. "So this is Akane. Juvia heard you gave her son quite a scare by taking a job by yourself," she said.

Akane couldn't help but laugh. "Zander? Worried about me? Are we talking about the same Alexander?" she asked, not believing what Juvia told her. The blue haired mother nodded smiling. Akane looked back to the table of her friends only to find Zander covering his face in embarrassment.

"Oh no," Zander whined.

"Whats the matter Zander?" Render asked. His back was to the confrontation going on between Akane and Juvia.

"My mom is talking to Akane. She's going to tell her something private and then Akane is going to have something else over my head. I'm gonna be a dork forever, aren't I?" he asked Pix.

Pix laughed. "Why do you care what Akane thinks? You like her don't you?" Ian grilled Zander.

"Why the hell weren't you like this when Akane was here?" Zander asked annoyed.

Ian shrugged. "I'm only ten, she's thirteen, and from the stories my dad told me, I don't wanna take the chance that she's like her mom. However, I guess you're out of luck seeing as how you're already on her bad side," Ian stuck out his tongue.

"Do you have a problem with me?" Zander yelled getting up from his seat.

"What do you think, ice for brains?" Ian yelled back standing up too.

After Akane turned back to her conversation with Juvia she heard yelling coming from her table of friends. She turned around to find Zander and Ian yelling and arguing. Her eyes automatically went back to Gray and Natsu arguing and she couldn't help but laugh. "Whats so funny, Akane?" Lucy asked.

Akane pointed to Zander and Ian, then Natsu and Gray. "Does this happen often?" she asked, trying to keep her composure.

"Ian! Leave him alone! Ian!" Lyla Heart yelled from her spot next to her mother.

Lucy sighed. "Akane, would you mind taking care of the fight in your generation and I'll take care of mine?"

Akane smiled. "My pleasure."

"Don't hurt Juvia's little Alexander!" Juvia called after Akane. She was very tempted to turn around and tell her that she couldn't promise anything, but she restrained herself. Akane walked up behind Zander and pulled on his shoulder. She spun him around and sat him down on the bench then walked over to Ian and did the same. Pix suddenly felt as though she didn't belong and got up and moved to the side with the rest of her team. "What the hell are you two thinking? Is it so hard to get along?" Both boys looked down at their feet. "Just because your fathers don't get along doesn't mean that you have to be yelling at each other. Your moms get along-"

"Yeah, but they're women," Zander cut her off without thinking.

Akane shifted her weight and placed a hand on her hip. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"I-I said that they're women," Zander said timidly shrinking back into his shirt.

Akane leaned over and looked him in the eye. She put her pointer finger in his face as she said, "You listen here Alexander Fullbuster and you listen good. Gender has absolutely nothing to do with anything because incase you forgot, I was the one that saved your ass six months ago. And further more when someone says, 'excuse me' to you after you just said something in a volume where there is almost no doubt that they heard you, it means that they are giving you a chance to shut your trap and not repeat yourself. I knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you were that stupid. Now, do you have anything to respond to that with?"

Zander swallowed hard and shook his head. Akane nodded satisfied and back away from him. She turned her attention to a snickering Ian. "And you. You only get one first impression. I already know he's an idiot. We cleared that up six months ago, but a few minutes ago, I thought that maybe you were one of the only normal boys here in Fairy Tail." Then she backed up to speak to both boys at once. "I swear, if I ever catch the two of you fighting like that again you better run."

After a moment of silence Zander looked at her. "Akane," he said suddenly finding his voice. Ian, Pix, Tameron, and Render watched him wide eyed.

Akane glared at him. "What?" she asked with venom dripping from her voice.

"How come all of a sudden you're all... You're like this?" he asked. Tameron, Render, and Pix looked at each other. The three understood what he was asking. She seemed so much more mellow and relaxed before she left on her job.

"I'm like this," she said mocking his tone, "Because I just got back from a six month job to have a dork escort me to my surprise party, when I hate attention and all I wanted to do was sleep after my six month job, and then I get escorted around and introduced to all of my mom's old friends and even that can't be peaceful because you two idiots interrupted that by your stupid fighting! Did I mention I just got back from a six month job? A six. Month. Job, Zander. It was supposed to be two months! It took four more months than it should have!"

The last part came as a surprise to everyone at the table. Akane never said that her job ran four months longer than planed. Akane sighed and held her hand to her forehead. "I'm going back. I haven't finished meeting people yet," she said slightly irritated. She then walked back to Lucy, Lyla Heart, and Juvia. After she was out of earshot, the five turned to face each other. "Four extra months?" Zander said. "That can't be right. There's no way that could have happened, right?"

The other four were silent for a moment. "Well, there could have been some major problems I guess," Pix offered up.

"If there were such bad problems, wouldn't the guild have been contacted and asked to send a more powerful and experienced mage to help her out?" Render asked.

"There could have always just been complications, not problems. They could have had discrepancies on the plan of action, there could have been things that kept them from executing the plan. There are a lot of variables that go into something like that you know," Tameron added. While the group discussed what could have happened the cause a two month job to turn into a six month job Gray walked over. "Hey, Alex, I've been thinking about taking a job. Do you wanna come with me?" he asked.

The older team snickered at Gray calling him Alex. It almost seemed like Gray's pet name for him. Juvia called him Alexander which wasn't too bad because that was his real name, but everyone else called him Zander. He hated being called Alex, but didn't have the heart to tell his dad that. "Maybe, but since Akane just took a job by herself, I think I might take a solo one too. You know, I can't let a girl go around being better than me," Zander said in his usual cocky tone. Ian snorted a laugh.

"What the hell is that for?" Zander asked turning towards the blond haired boy.

"Guys," Pix interrupted, "you don't want Akane to come back, do you?" The argument was completely extinguished before it even started. Gray tried to hold in a laugh, but was unsuccessful. When his son looked at him, he explained, "Natsu and I used to fight like the two of you do but we pretended to be friends when Erza was around. Much like how you two are not fighting when Akane is around. I guess history does repeat itself."

This sparked a thought in Zander's head. "Hey Dad, did Erza ever take a job that lasted longer than it should have but she did it all by herself?"

Gray put a hand to his chin and thought for a moment. "Yeah, actually a few days after Ian's mom joined the guild, Erza came back from a job. It wasn't supposed to be that long of a job but no one was really worried. It was to take care of some sort of beast but the horn she brought back to show everyone was taller than Elfman over there," Gray said pointing to a large man with white hair.

Zander stared in amazement at the large man. "I guess history does repeat itself."

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**I'm so happy that I finished before the wedding! I was writing down to the wire for this one! Whew, now I gotta work on Beneath It All but I promise it will be done for Sunday! Thanks for all your support and for the INSANE amount of hits and visitors! Not only on this but on the random oneshots I post. Okay, now I have to go and do some last minute things to get ready! **

**Don't forget to review! Love you guys!**


	11. Suicide Mission?

**Hey guys! Sorry for another late update! I realized on Wednesday that I only had three sentences written of this chapter. Hehe =T...  
Well, school sucks because that's what's been keeping me busy and keeping me from writing this chapter and posting it a day late XC  
Anyway, enjoy chapter 10 of 20! **

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Akane stood in the guild with her back straight, her shoulders rolled back, and her chest out. Sh stood tall and proud. After 'the birthday fiasco' as she dubbed it, she vowed to not let the small surprises life threw at her to get in her head. She walked over to the request board, ready for the day. It was like Akane's whole mood had turned around since she came back from her extended job. She felt confident in herself and saw herself in a new light, a more flattering light. Everyone else in Fairy Tail saw her as a younger Erza. Except the only difference this time was that everyone saw what they thought was her transformation, instead of it happening before she arrived at Fairy Tail. For everyone though, the most amusing part wasn't that Akane had transformed, but that she took on the job of disciplining everyone just like Erza had. She would go on a solo job and be gone for a few weeks to s few months and come back covered in cuts and bruises from her fights and burns from her magic, and come back and try to whip the rest of the guild into shape. What would seem to be her favorite thing to do seemed to be yell at Zander and Ian for fighting. She wanted to yell at Gray and Natsu as well, however she was only 13 and wanted to wait until she had a bit more credibility in the guild before she started yelling at older guild members.

As Akane walked over to the request board, Zander approached her. "Akane."

"No."

Zander stopped in his tracks. "I didn't even say anything except your name," he told her.

"I don't care, you're going to ask me something and I don't have the time. I'm taking another job," Akane explained.

"That's what I wanna talk to you about. My mom has been down my throat to go on a job with Ian because she thinks it will help me get along better with him, and my dad just wants me to go on a job without him. So I was thinking, if you me and Ian form a team, then that kills two birds with one stone," Zander explained.

Akane looked at him silently, trying to think of what she was going to say next without sounding heartless. Once she found the words she was looking for, she opened her mouth. However, Zander practically took the words out of her mouth. "As much as I'd hate to say it, Ian is pretty strong. Not as strong as me, but-"

"If he's not as strong as you, then that's not 'pretty strong'," Akane responded.

Zander paused for a moment. Then he smirked. "We haven't had a rematch recently and we also haven't been on any jobs together. You don't know how much stronger I've gotten."

"We're not having rematches. I'm done fighting you and you know that...But I guess I do need to take a bit of a break," Akane stopped to think for a moment. "Fine, I'll take a job with you and Ian, but we're not forming a team," Akane said firmly.

"You're forming a team with Zander, Kane-chan?"

Akane turned around. She had been so busy recently, she had barely seen Pix, Tameron, and Render, so when she saw three people standing before her, it took her a few seconds to realize who they were. Akane was speechless for a moment trying to register what was going on when Pix continued. "You know, my mom said your mom, Zander's dad, and both of Ian's parents formed the strongest team in Fairy Tail during their time working together. You guys could probably beat them though if you joined up with Ian and Lyla."

The more Pix talked, the more Akane felt off her game. She started to realize because of all of her recent jobs, she had no clue what was going on within the guild. She started to feel disconnected as she looked around the guild and saw faces she hadn't recognized. Some of them she needed to take a second to realize who they were, and others were just completely new. _When did this happen?_ Akane thought. Her mood had flipped back to the worried little girl she was when she got off the train nine months ago. Almost a _year_ had gone by, and Akane found that she hadn't grown at all, causing herself to be more worried about the situation she found herself in. Then she stopped herself. _I'll be damned if I let a town win. I can do a six month job by myself and come back with a few scratches and cuts. I can teach myself a magic completely foreign to my body and master it. I'm Akane Scarlet. This rose will not die,_ she thought to reinstall her confidence in herself. Once again, Akane rolled her shoulders back and tilted her chin up. Then she looked at Pix who had finished talking and was smiling at her. "Are you back from your little inner-mind world yet?" she asked the redhead before.

Akane smiled. "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess occasionally, having a fall back isn't so bad though. Maybe a temporary team _would_ be a good idea," Akane responded.

Pix smiled. "So you retained some of what I said while you were conducting your mini self journey? Well, speaking of teams, I have a job to do with mine. Enjoy your new team Kane-chan!" Pix called as she turned away to leave the guild.

Akane turned around to find Ian and Zander glaring at each other, however, once both boys noticed Akane looking at them, they immediately changed their demeanor and pretended to be friends. Akane knew it was just a facade, but she enjoyed the fact that they tried to be 'friends' because she threatened them last time she caught them fighting. The older members of the guild laughed at the scene that unfolded before them, flashing back to when Erza, Gray, and Natsu stood where their children were at that moment. Akane walked passed the boys and stood in front of the request board searching for the perfect job for the newly formed team.

"Oh, Akane, I'm glad I caught you before you took another job," Mira called to the young Scarlet child as she walked over happily.

"Oh, good morning Mira. What do you need?" she asked the white haired woman.

"There have been rumors going around that a Dark Guild is planning an attack. I was wondering if you could go and check it out for me," Mira explained.

Akane shrugged. "Sure. We'll get right on that."

Mira looked at Akane quizzically. "We?" she asked.

"Yeah. Zander, Ian, and I," Akane explained.

"And me!" a small unfamiliar voice called from behind Akane, causing her to turn around. Lyla Heart was standing next to Ian with her hands on her hips smiling widely. Ian was amazed to see his younger sister standing next to him. "Not you!" he shrieked back and attempted to grab his sister up to bring her back to their mother. Lyla Heart dodged him and looked at him sternly. "You're going to need me and you know it. There's only so much Leo can do on one job!"

Zander stifled a laugh. "Yeah, we're probably going to need her dragon slayer magic more than we'd need you and your keys on a job against a Dark Guild," he scoffed.

Ian whipped around to face Zander, but caught a glimpse of Akane first and stopped himself. Zander noticed the death glares and dark aura emanating from the young girl as well and dropped the subject of the Dragneel childrens' magic. Then Akane turned back to Mira. "So where do the four of us have to be and when?" she asked the white haired guild master.

Despite her skepticism, Mira gave Akane the information.

As she watched the group of kids walk out of the door, Mira felt as if she had just sent three of them on a suicide mission.

/

After they were seated on the train, Ian was the first to speak up. "So what is this job that Mira gave us?"

"Well, technically, she gave it to Akane. Akane was just kind enough to share it with the rest of us," Zander said with a clear intention of striking a nerve. Ian glared at the black haired boy, and Zander glared back at the blond.

Akane cleared her thought gaining, the attention of the two boys again. "She said we have to stop a few of the lower members of a Dark Guild before they can steal an artifact from a museum. It was some sort of tool used by Zeref or something," Akane explained.

"Whats the name of the guild?" Lyla Heart asked innocently.

"Um..." Akane trailed off thinking back to her conversation with Mira. "I think she said Tartaros."

The three other children sat staring at Akane, amazed at what she had just told them.

"You accepted a job to stop members of Tartaros? You were going to accept a job to stop Tartaros members _alone_?" Zander asked.

"Yeah. So?" Akane asked. She had never heard of Tartaros so she assumed that it was just another new Dark Guild that was trying to gain some credibility within the world by stealing an artifact that was previously used by Zeref.

"Ian..." Lyla Heart said worriedly.

The train started moving and Ian covered his mouth. "I think I'm going to be sick," he mumbled from behind his hand. Lyla Heart didn't move to help her brother.

"What am I missing?" Akane asked.

The other three were silent.

"Guys, what is it?" Akane asked again.

"We're going up against Tartaros, and we're from Fairy Tail," Zander explained.

"Yeah, and?" Akane wasn't getting what the big deal was.

"Tartaros is one-third of the Balam Alliance along with Grimoire Heart and Oración Seis. All of our parents were part of the downfall of both Grimoire Heart and Oración Seis," Lyla Heart explained in a hushed tone.

Akane looked at the younger girl sitting across from her, Zander to Lyla Heart's right. She then looked to Ian, who was doubled over clutching his stomach with one arm, and his mouth with the other hand.

_What have I done?_ Akane thought nervously.


	12. Another Author's Note

Dear readers

I am so sorry I haven't updated recently. I'm in the process of applying to college so the update schedule is going to be pushed back a cycle. I promise I will update the next cycle! I have it marked on my calendar and everything so I wont forget!

My apologies,

Frankenstein's Mom


	13. A New Confidence

The train pulled into the station. Reluctantly, Zander, Ian, and Lyla Heart stood up, however, Akane refused to move. I brought three people with me to a face off against a dark guild. A dork, a kid, and someone that I don't even know his abilities! she thought.

"Akane," Zander called, breaking her out of her thoughts, snapping her back to reality. Akane looked at him startled. "Let's go," he followed up. Akane nodded meekly and stood up to exit the train. Akane wobbled to the platform and sat down on the closest bench she could find. "Don't tell me you get motion sickness like my dad, Akane," Ian said jokingly.

"Yeah, Akane. What's wrong? You weren't like this the last time we took a train together, and you absolutely despised me back then. Is everything okay?" Zander asked.

Akane thought for a moment. What do I say? I'm scared? That will just make me look weak. I'm scared for them? Anything I say can and probably will be turned against me. Akane dropped her head and rested her forehead in her palms. I don't know what to do. I wish my mom was here. She would know, she would be able to protect us. With a sudden burst of inspiration and confidence, she lifted her head and looked up to the sky. It was so blue, not a cloud in sight. The sun shone on her face, warm and comforting like a mother's arms after a horrible day. If she heard me like that she would be ashamed of me, Akane concluded. She stood up and looked the three in the eyes in turn. "Akane, is everything okay?" Zander asked again.

A wide grin spread across her face. She looked almost maniacal. She turned away and stood with her back facing her team mates silently. "Oh great, she's cracked," Ian mumbled under his breath.

"Sometimes the unconventional people are the ones you have to put your faith in the most. You know, think outside of the box to trap the demon," Akane said philosophically. She then cocked her head back and looked at Zander. "Right?"

Zander thought back to their first job together, how she winged the whole take down, and they were victorious, contrary to most new team's first jobs. He thought of the stories he heard of her solo jobs, how she would do things that no one, not even the older guild members, would ever even consider doing on a solo job where there is no one to back you up if you get injured in battle. He recalled how when he would ask her why she would do something so reckless without back up, she simply replied with 'a guild member has to be able to hold his or her own. If you can't even do that, then you shouldn't bear the Fairy Tail crest.'

He would never tell her, but Zander's respect for Akane shot up considerably since they first met, with every solo job she took and completed, with every rule she enforced, every fought she broke up between the younger guild members, with every strict word she spoke to the older members, every time an older member listened to her.

"You have got to be crazy," Ian told the red haired girl before him.

"She knows what she's doing, and at the very least, you should give her your respect because she's taken more jobs without an adult than you've ever taken with an adult," Zander retorted, annoyance apparent in his voice.

Akane was amazed that Zander had such reverent things to say about her. She let the sparks of a fight go for the one time as she walked out of the station towards the town.

/

Lyla Heart walked close to Akane as she looked around the town. "Its like a ghost town. Where is everyone?" she asked Akane.

"You don't think they're all... You know," Zander asked rubbing his neck worriedly.

Akane couldn't bring herself to answer honestly. "Whose to know."

The three younger guild members stopped to look at Akane nervously. She met their nervous looks with confidence. "Lets get to the museum and check out this artifact that they're rumored to be stealing."

The team walked through the vacant town gawking at the condition it was in. Akane turned around to see the other three lagging behind looking around them. "Well, quit dragging your feet and lets get a move on. The longer it takes to get there, the slimmer our chance is to keep them from stealing it," she called behind them.

Zander picked up his pace and caught up with her. "Is there something wrong with you or something? Did you hit your head coming off of the train?"

Akane looked at the boy next to her. "I'm fine," she said as reassuringly as she could muster up. Unfortunately it wasn't convincing enough for Zander.

"Listen," he whispered. "You don't have to fake it. Just because you're scared doesn't mean that we wont follow you. We trust you. We wouldn't have come with you if we didn't."

Akane looked at him sideways holding back what she truly wanted to say. Instead she just flashed him a smile and continued walking.

Lyla Heart looked to her older brother. "This is bad, isn't it?"

Ian didn't respond.

"Should I try to call mom or dad you think?" she asked.

After a pause, he answered her. "No. She's Erza's daughter. If something goes wrong, she'll be able to hand it." Then he added softly, "I hope."

/

The museum was large and the architecture resembled that of a Roman gothic church. The three younger mages were amazed as they stood gawking on the front steps. "Lets go," Akane said as she walked towards the door.

"What do you children think you're doing? This place is closed down," a man's voice called behind them. All four turned around to see a man in uniform standing as bravely as he could before them. Akane flashed him a mocking smile. "We're going to go complete a job and clean up a mess that yo-" she was cut off by Zander covering her mouth and spinner her around to face him. "You can't talk that way to an officer of the military," he scolded her.

Akane's smile faded and she looked to the side, "Yeah, whatever." She turned back around to him and walked over so she was right in front of him. He was plenty taller than her, but she wasn't afraid of him, not even slightly intimidated. "My apologies sir," she said with a small curtsy. "I was saying that we're here to clean up the mess that you were unable to without us. Please excuse us," she said turing away. "What did I just tell you?" Zander whispered angrily.

Akane opened her mouth to answer him, but the officer behind them spoke again.

"Are you Fairy Tail mages? When I heard the names, I assumed you all would be much older," he explained.

The group turned around and looked at him, now all four of them smiling as convincingly as they could. "We're their children," Akane simply said. They all turned away and continued to the front doors.

"I wish you the best of luck, young mages. My men and I will pray for your safe return."

Akane put a thumbs up in the air, while the other three put their pointer finger and thumb in the air. Akane looked at them and changed to have the same gesture.

Uneasily, the man in uniform walked away, leaving the Fairy Tail mages to do their work.

Akane looked behind them and rolled up the sleeves on her jacket. "Well, now that he's gone, lets get down to work!" she cheered as she reached for the doorknob. When her hand was inches away, she was thrown back onto the ground a few feet away.

"What the hell was that?" Zander cried.

Akane got onto her knee. "Damn it, they're already inside. The put up a forcefield around the museum so no one could get in," she mumbled.

Ian dug into his pocket. "I got this. I can dig a tunnel under the door and get us in."

"Wait, if we do that, then it'll announce that we're coming in. If we can figure out a way to get through the barrier, that would be the better way of getting in," Zander said.

"Are you saying that my method isn't good?"

Zander opened his mouth and Akane walked between them. "Yes," she said simply as she walked passed them. She stood in front of the door once again and looked at her right hand, opening and closing it slowly. _Its__already__burned.__Its__not__like__I__'__m__doing__any__damage__if__I__bother__it__just__a__little__bit__more,_ she thought. She then swiftly took a fighting stance and smirked. "Lets go." Zander realized what she was doing. She was going to use her magic to get through the forcefield and get them in. After a few seconds she was charged up, extremely faster than it took her on their first job together. "Are you guys ready?" she asked before she opened the door.

"Yeah," Ian responded.

"Let's do this!" Lyla Heart cheered.

"Don't pass out," Zander said flatly.

Akane smirked. "As long as you don't, dork. Theres no going back now! We've got this!" she cheered as she punched the forcefield. It was a miniature fight between Akane's magic and the forcefield for a few seconds, then finally, Akane's magic won and it shattered. Akane continued to follow through with her punch until she hit the door, splintering that as well. "I thought we were supposed to make a quiet, sneaky entry," Ian complained.

"At least we know where we are, if you dug under, we could have come up right under their meeting or something," Zander returned.

"Okay!" Akane ordered gaining the other three's attention. "Lets split up, we need to find this thing before they do. Zander and I will go alone, Ian, stay with Lyla Heart. I don't want to deal with your parents if I let her get hurt."

"I don't need Ian to stick with me, Akane. I can handle myself," Lyla Heart said innocently.

Akane looked to Ian for conformation. He nodded his head and then looked at the ground as if ashamed by something. "Well, okay then. Zander, you take the first floor, East wing. Lyla Heart, first floor west wing. Ian, second floor east wing. I'll take the second floor west wing," Akane assigned.

"Lyla Heart should take the second floor, and I'll take the first," Ian told her.

Akane didn't care. "Whatever, as long as we're split up, go where ever you see fit. Ready? Break!"

The four young mages darted off in their respective directions.

/

"Did you feel that, sir?"

"Yes, it would seem we have company."

"What shall we do?"

"Draim, Izzo, Kauff, Arzu, go take care of it."

"Yes, sir," the four answered in unison and left the room.

"This may be a problem, don't you agree Marigoh?"

Marigoh chuckled. "We'll crush those pixies as if they were little bugs on the floor."


End file.
